New Revelations
by Shadow051
Summary: It has been three months since Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo confessed their feelings for one another. For them, life has seemingly gone back to normal. However, everything changes when a new foal transfers into their class and ignites feelings within Sweetie Belle, causing her to ask herself: are her feelings for Scootaloo true or was it all just a phase that has run its course?
1. Prologue: What Happens Now?

_**A/N: This chapter takes place immediately after the events in "New Discoveries"**  
_

_It was a beautiful day in Ponyville; the weather was warm, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, peace was everywhere and everypony who lived there was happy. It was hard to believe that a hurricane had passed only four days ago. Now that it had, everything had seemed to go back to normal. The colorful ponies that inhabited the town went about their ordinary routine without a care in the world._

_ As the population of ponies went about their business, they were all completely oblivious to two small fillies making their way through the town towards Sweet Apple Acres, both of them with smiles on their faces. The two of them galloped down the busy streets of Ponyville, every now and then, passing a smile at one another. Eventually, their gallop turned into a trot as the two of them began heading down the dirt path leading to the local apple orchard._

_ As they trotted past the main section of the farm, the two fillies exchanged another glance at one another, smiling as they did so._

_ "Wow," said Sweetie Belle in a soft tone, "I have to admit that this is very...different."_

_ "What do you mean?" asked Scootaloo as she gave her friend an unsure look._

_ "I mean, I honestly didn't expect Rarity to approve of us being...you know...together like this. Now that she has, it feels a little...different."_

_ "Is that a good thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow._

_ "Of course!" she quickly shot back, "I just mean that this has never happened before, so I'm kind of new to the whole thing."_

_ "Yeah, I guess I know what you mean," the orange Pegasus replied, "It's going to take some getting used to, I suppose, but it's nothing that we can't handle, right?"_

_ "Right," the unicorn filly said softly, not resisting the chance to nudge against her friends' neck._

_ It only happened a few days ago, but it seemed like an eternity had passed when Sweetie Belle developed a crush on Scootaloo, causing an uncanny chain of events to occur. Eventually, the white unicorn filly had told her friend the truth and Scootaloo had confessed that her feelings were mutual to hers. Since then, the two of them had agreed to keep their relationship a secret from everypony. However, the guilt-ridden Sweetie Belle couldn't keep the truth from her older sister, Rarity, who had believed the lies she had told to her and anypony else that was involved in the whole ordeal. It wasn't until earlier that day that the two of them told the older unicorn the truth about what had happened and requested her blessing for the two of them to be together. Now that she had given them her approval, the two of them headed for their clubhouse, ready to meet up with their third member of their group, Apple Bloom, and continue their adventures to earn their beloved Cutie Marks._

_ As the two of them began slowly approached the clubhouse, Sweetie Belle leaned in and kissed Scootaloo on the cheek, causing the two of them to giggle. Like the two of them had said, it was going to take some getting used to, but they knew they could work it out. Her cheeks a small shade of pink, Scootaloo followed suit and kissed the white unicorn filly on the cheek, once again, causing the two of them to let out another giggle._

_ Soon, the two of them arrived at their clubhouse where their yellow earth pony friend was waiting for them, sitting on her haunches on the front ramp. When she saw her friends approaching, she stood up and began approaching the two of them, a smile plastered on her face._

_ "Well," she said in her Southwestern accent, "What did she say? What did she say?"_

_ The two of them smiled at one another, knowing what she was talking about. Then, Sweetie Belle turned to her and said, "Rarity approved!"_

_ "Woohoo!" shouted Apple Bloom, as she wrapped her arms around her two friends, "Ah told ya she would! Now you two can be together and not hafta worry 'bout keepin' it a big secret!"_

_ As the three of them shared in their embrace, they all let out a laugh. Apple Bloom was the first pony that knew about them being together, thanks to Scootaloo telling her without Sweetie Belle knowing. Furthermore, she was the first pony to accept and support the idea that they were together like they were. Now that their family and friends were supportive of them, they can be together without anything to worry about._

_ After they released their embrace, the three of them headed up the ramp and entered their clubhouse, all of them ready to earn their Cutie Marks._

_ "So, Apple Bloom," said Scootaloo, "You said you had some new ideas for us to try, right?"_

_ "Ah sure do!" she said with a smile, "Ah was thinkin' we can try to earn our Cutie Marks in jewelry makin'!"_

_ "Oh!" said Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking slightly, "That's sounds like a great idea! Imagine making all those pretty rings and necklaces and bracelets! It sounds so wonderful!"_

_ Scootaloo couldn't help but roll her eyes. She really had no interest in jewelry of any kind, but she figured it was best to try it anyway. Anything was better than nothing, she figured._

_ "Then it's settled!" said Apple Bloom, "Maybe we can get a book from the library to see how we can make 'em. Then we can ask Rarity or Twilight if they can help us find some gems that we can use!"_

_ "Sounds good to me," said Scootaloo, trying her best to sound like she was, more or less, interested in the whole thing. Fortunately for her, neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle noticed the slight hint of sarcasm in her voice._

_ As the three of them began heading out of the clubhouse, Apple Bloom stopped trotting and began to think, blocking the other two from leaving the clubhouse._

_ "What's wrong, Apple Bloom?" asked Scootaloo, raising an eyebrow at her, "Is everything alright?"_

_ "Yeah, everything's fine," she said, turning to face the two of them. "Ah was just wonderin' somethin', if you two don't mind me askin'."_

_ Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged unsure glances at one another before turning to face the red-mane earth pony._

_ "Don't get me wrong, ah'm happy that the two of you are together like this, but..." she began, fidgeting her hoof into the floor boards._

_ Thinking she knew what she was going to say, the orange filly said, "Don't worry, Apple Bloom. We're not going to neglect or forget you, if that's what you're worried about. It'll still be the same between us, right?"_

_ "Right!" said the white filly, offering her friends a smile._

_ "No, that's not what ah was gonna say," said Apple Bloom, nervousness clearly evident in her tone, "Ah was just wonderin', now that the two of you are together...well..."_

_ Hesitant, Apple Bloom took one last breath and asked, "What happens now?"_

_ The two fillies shot each other confused looks before looking back at Apple Bloom. "What do you mean?" they asked in unison._

_ "Ah mean, now that the two of you are together like this, what happens now? What are you two gonna do now?" she asked, looking from Scootaloo to Sweetie Belle._

_ The two of them were caught off guard from the question, causing silence to blanket the clubhouse. It was something that the two of them didn't think about, even after they had asked for Rarity's approval. They were together now, but what could they do? They couldn't do anything most couples they saw around town do because they were too young. They couldn't date, take each other out, or anything, at least not now. The question hung over the two fillies, sending an uneasy shift in the room._

_ After several moments had passed, Scootaloo broke the silence. "L-Let's not worry about that, now. We have jewelry-making Cutie Marks to get!"_

_ With that, the three of them exited the clubhouse and began making their way into town. As they trotted down the dirt path heading towards Ponyville, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle couldn't help but exchange confused and slightly worried glances at each other again. As they made their way to Ponyville, the question echoed in their minds like a broken record, replaying over and over and over again:_

_ What happens now?_


	2. Chapter 1: Three Months Later

Scootaloo found herself making her way through the streets of Ponyville on her scooter, heading towards the schoolhouse one beautiful morning. As her tiny wings fluttered furiously, an empty red wagon with two helmets resting inside trailing behind her, she couldn't help but smile to herself. Today was a very special day, to her at least, and she couldn't wait until after school so that she and her friends could spend it together.

It's hard to believe sometimes that time flies when you're having fun. For Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, three months went by faster than Rainbow Dash on her best day. It felt like it was just yesterday that the two of them had first confessed their true feelings for one another, standing in front of the Everfree Forest, both wet from the drizzle that was lightly coming down that day. Now, the two of them were together and their lives had gone back to normal.

Granted, they feared that they would be ridiculed for their relationship, but once they saw that most of pony society didn't mind, or didn't care, they realized they had nothing to fear. What made today so special was that the two of them, along with Apple Bloom of course, were going to celebrate their three month anniversary together after school.

It wasn't long before Scootaloo was nearing the school that they all attended. When she saw it in view, she used her wings to slow down, skidding to a halt in front of the steps that lead into the establishment. When she got off of her scooter, putting the helmet on one of the handle bars, she saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were just arriving.

"Hey, Scootaloo," they said in unison as they approached the orange Pegasus.

"Hey, Apple Bloom! Hey, Sweetie Belle," she said, trotting up to the two of them, "Are you guys ready for after school?"

"Eeyup!" said Apple Bloom, trying to mimic her older brother's way of speaking, "Everything's all set!"

"Great," said Scootaloo, trotting over to the white unicorn filly, "Are _you_ ready for after school?"

Giggling, Sweetie Belle nudged Scootaloo's neck and said, "You bet I am."

Scootaloo returned the gesture and nudged her back. The sight of the two of them in their tender moment caused Apple Bloom to let out a muffled giggle.

"Alright, c'mon you two," the red-mane filly said, "Let's get goin' before we're late."

When the two of them stopped, they looked at Apple Bloom, both of their cheeks a small shade red.

"Oops, sorry about that," said Sweetie Belle to Apple Bloom, "I guess we got carried away."

"Yeah, sorry," said Scootaloo, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

"It's alright, ah really don't mind," she said reassuringly, "Ah just don't want us to be late, that's all."

The three of them let out a small laugh as they made their way up the stairs and into the schoolhouse, anxiously waiting for school to end so they could celebrate together.

* * *

Several hours later, when the school bell had rung and the fillies and colts began leaving the school, the Cutie Mark Crusaders met in front of the building. The three of them were strapping on the helmets that Scootaloo had brought, getting ready to make it to their destination.

"Okay, you guys ready?" asked Scootaloo as she got onto her scooter.

"Ready when you are," said Apple Bloom, getting into the wagon.

"You got the bits?"

Apple Bloom nodded as she pulled out a small bag of bits from her saddlebag to show Scootaloo. Then, she put it away, smiling as she did so.

Sweetie Belle finished strapping on her helmet and was getting ready to get in the wagon with her friends when a voice from behind her stopped her, a voice the three of them knew all too well.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the _happy couple_," said the snooty voice of the school bully, Diamond Tiara. It was pretty clear in the tone of her voice that she was mocking them, calling them a "happy couple".

"Not this again," muttered Scootaloo, lowering her head and furrowing her eyebrows.

"Where are you two off to?" asked Diamond's partner in crime, Silver Spoon, who also had a sarcastic and snooty tone in her voice, "Off on another one of your pointless 'crusades'?"

"Oh, please," chimed in Diamond Tiara, "They're probably off to a private place so they can make out or something."

The two of them shared a laugh, causing Sweetie Belle to lower her head in shame. Slowly and quietly, she entered the red wagon, hanging her head and looking down at the ground. Apple Bloom shot the two of them a dirty look as Scootaloo tried her best not to get involved and do something she knew she'd regret.

"Honestly, the very thought of two fillies being together is, like, _so_ disgusting," said Diamond Tiara as she began circling the three of them, Silver Spoon following suit, "I can't believe your families actually allowed the two of you to be together."

"It's none of your business," said Scootaloo, her voice firm, "Just leave us alone, alright!"

"Trust me, you make it my business when I have to see the two of you together like this every single day," the stuck-up filly shot back, "Isn't that right, Silver Spoon?"

The grey filly simply nodded in response, her eyes closed and a smirk on her face.

"What do you care if we're together?" Scootaloo shot back, a smile on her face, "What are you, jealous or something?"

The pale-pink pony was taken aback by the statement, letting out an audible gasp. She even went so far as to shoot Silver Spoon a look, who shared the sentiment with her fellow tormentor.

"Me...Jealous...of YOU!?" she said in shock, "You've got some nerve to think that I'd be jealous of the two of you."

"Coulda fooled me," chimed in Apple Bloom, trying to hide a smile from forming on her lips. Scootaloo couldn't help but release her laughter out loud. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, remained quiet the entire time.

"Hmph," Diamond said, sticking her nose in the air, "Me being jealous of you. Ha! That'll be the day, right Silver Spoon?"

Again, the grey filly simply nodded, adjusting the white-framed glasses on her face. However, unlike before, she had a look on her face that was both embarrassed and uneasy, as if she was trying to hide something. Luckily, she was able to change her composure to match that of Diamond Tiara's, who approached her with her nose in the air and her eyes closed.

"Whatever," said Diamond Tiara, "You two can go to your make-out point now; it really doesn't matter to me, anyway."

Scootaloo rolled he eyes as she got ready to leave, starting to flap her wings as fast as she could so she could get away from the two of them. However, she heard the two of them say one last retort, one that grinded her very last nerve every time she heard them say it.

"See you tomorrow..." the two of them said in unison, both of which in a mocking tone, "...SCOOTABELLE!"

As the three of them left the school, Scootaloo could hear the two of them sharing a laugh with one another. When she was certain they were out of earshot, she couldn't help but let out an audible groan of annoyance; the fact that the others could hear it while they were in motion made it pretty clear that she had groaned pretty loudly.

"You have no idea how much I HATE that name," she said as the two of them made their way towards Ponyville.

"Just forget them," said Apple Bloom, "They're just tryin' to get yer goat. You getting' frustrated at 'em is just what they want, so it's best that ya just ignore 'em."

"I know," said the orange filly, "I'd never let them know how much I despise that name."

A moment of silence had passed as the three of them made their way through the busy streets. Ponies of all different sizes and color were happily going about their business as the three of them whizzed by them all.

It wasn't long before the three of them reached their destination, Sugar Cube Corner. When they got there, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom removed their helmets and got ready to enter the local bakery, the small bag of bits in the earth pony's mouth.

"Okay, let's go," said Scootaloo, a smile on her face. Apple Bloom simply nodded in response, since she couldn't say anything with the bag in her mouth. However, the two of them noticed that Sweetie Belle hadn't left the wagon; she hadn't even removed her helmet. She just sat there, her head hung low and a saddened expression on her face.

Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at the white unicorn, then at each other. Knowing why she was upset and what had to be done, Apple Bloom nodded and made her way into the sweets shop, allowing Scootaloo to talk to her in private. The orange filly trotted over to her, making her way to where she was facing.

"Hey, Sweetie," she said, her voice low and soft, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, not raising her head to look at her.

"Doesn't look that way to me," she said as she got into the wagon. Admittedly, it wasn't too much of a comfort for her (she was always the one pulling the wagon, not riding in it), but she knew it was worth the discomfort if it meant helping her friend.

"It's nothing, honest," Sweetie Belle said, the tone in her voice clearly saying otherwise.

"Come on, Sweetie Belle, you can tell me what's wrong," Scootaloo said, rubbing her back with a hoof, hoping it would help, "Was it Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?"

A tear slowly streamed down her cheek as she nodded in response. When she saw the stream come from her eyes, Scootaloo couldn't help but bring her into an embrace, wrapping her hooves around her.

"It's okay, Sweetie Belle," she said softly, "Everything will be alright."

"No, it won't" she said, trying to speak through her tears and sadness, "We deal with them every day. Chances are, we'll have to deal with them tomorrow...and the next day...and the next day...and the day after that...and the day after that!"

Scootaloo tried to be supportive of her, but after hearing that, she couldn't but roll her eyes.

"I don't want to go through with this every day for the rest our lives," she said, releasing their embrace and looking Scootaloo in the eyes, "I don't think I can take any more of it."

"Don't worry about them," said the Pegasus filly, "They'll torment us till the day we graduate. If it's not us being together, it'll be something else, like our blank flanks. Still, we shouldn't let them get to us. It's like Apple Bloom said, it's what they want."

Wiping her eyes with her hoof, Sweetie Belle said, "I know. I'm trying my best to not let it bother me, but sometimes, when I really think about it, I can't help but let it get to me."

"I know," she said, "But let's put this behind us for now. We're getting ready to celebrate and we shouldn't let those two ruin it. Come on, let's go inside and have a good time."

Smiling, Sweetie Belle said, "Okay."

The moment she saw her smile, Scootaloo couldn't help but smile as well. Then, the two of them shared a small kiss with one another; a small butterfly kiss on the lips, nothing more. Then, the two of them got out of the wagon and made their way into the bakery, where Apple Bloom waited for them.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of nothing but the three of them chowing down on sweets and enjoying each other's company, all in celebration of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's three month anniversary.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Scootaloo dropped off Sweetie Belle at the Carousel Boutique, where she was currently residing.

"See you tomorrow, Sweetie Belle," said Scootaloo and Apple Bloom in unison. The white filly waved good-bye as the two of them slowly began to disappear on the horizon. Then, letting out a small sigh, she entered the dressmaker's shop.

She moved passed the main area of the Boutique and up the stairs to the living quarters of the establishment. When she got to the top of the stairs, she heard that her sister was hard at work with, what she assumed, was another dress order of some kind. When she walked to the work room, she saw that Rarity was trotting back and forth, working on an outfit.

Sweetie Belle entered the room, which she had called her "inspiration room", and trotted over to her sister.

"Hey, sis," she said, offering her a smile.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, stopping to acknowledge her sister's presence, "How was school, today?"

"Fine, I guess," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor.

Recognizing the tone in her voice, Rarity looked at her sister and let out a sigh, "Please tell me you're not having any more difficulties with the fillies and colts at school."

Lowering her head in shame, Sweetie Belle softly said, "Diamond Tiara."

"Again?" Rarity said in a shocked tone.

"Again," said Sweetie Belle, her voice still low.

"I thought I dealt with this yesterday."

"You did."

"And she's STILL bothering you?"

"Yes"

Rarity let out another frustrated groan. "Her father must be too nice to her. I made it perfectly clear that she shouldn't be bothering you or Scootaloo. Oh well, I guess I'll have to talk with her father tomorrow...again!"

Sweetie Belle looked at her sister and said, "You don't have to. She's going to keep bothering us, if not about us being together, then something else. It's not going to stop."

"It certainly shall," Rarity said as she trotted over to her younger kin, "I said that I would help you two through with this, and I am keeping that promise."

Then, the two sisters shared a hug with one another. As they did, Sweetie Belle whispered, "Thank you, sis."

"No need to thank me, Sweet'ums," she said with a reassuring smile, "That's what sisters do, look out for their relations, no matter what."

Soon, they released their embrace. Then, Rarity said, "Sweetie Belle, could you be a dear and set the table for supper?"

"Sure!" said the white filly as she made her way out of the room and into the kitchen.

When she was out of earshot, Rarity let out a sigh. Then, she trotted over to her desk and took a piece of parchment and a quill. Using her magic, she began writing a reminder to herself to go to Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara's father, and talk to him about his daughter's behavior...again.

After she wrote the note, she looked at it and sighed to herself. Would she have to talk to _everypony_ who started trouble with the two of them? What if they were like Diamond Tiara, where she'd have to talk with them every day?

_What am I going to do with you, Sweetie Belle?_ she thought to herself as she trotted away from the desk and to the dress she was working. _Why can't you be like everypony else and love a colt instead of a filly? It'd be much simpler that way, for BOTH of us!_

She shook the thoughts from her head; she had made a promise to Sweetie Belle that she'd be supportive of her decision and she was going to keep it.

_Come now, Rarity_, she thought to herself. _You made a promise and you're going to keep it. Besides, things will get better with time, you'll see...I hope. Maybe another talk with Filthy Rich about this issue will ensure that something is done about that filly._

With that, Rarity continued to put some of the final touches on the dress she was working on. As she put the last few gems on the neckline of the dress, she couldn't help but still feel the cloud of doubt floating around in her mind; a small cloud that told her that maybe, just maybe, approving of her sister being with another filly was a big mistake.


	3. Chapter 2: Conflicts and Resolutions

The next morning, at around nine or so, Rarity was putting the final touches on a new outfit she was working on. It was similar to the one she was working on the night before, except it had a different assortment of jewels adorning it. She had been working on it for most of the morning, after sending Sweetie Belle off to school. Now that she had finished putting the last of the gemstones on it, she took a few steps back to admire her own creation. When she did, she smiled and let out a contented sigh; in her opinion, this was one of the best and most beautiful ensembles she had created in a long time.

After spending a few moments admiring her own work, she used her magic to levitate the red-framed working glasses she wore off of her face and onto her desk.

"Excellent, my latest fashion design is complete," she said aloud in a cheery tone as she placed the glasses down. When she did, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the note she had written the night before. Turning her head to look at it, she read what she had written and remembered what she had to do today.

Her ears drooped and she repeated in a flat and annoyed tone, "Excellent, my latest fashion design is complete."

Now that she was finished with her work, that meant she had to pay Filthy Rich a visit and talk to him about his daughter's behavior...AGAIN. When the thought of doing so crossed her mind, she let out a sigh before trotting out of the work room, down the stairs and towards the front entrance of the Boutique. Putting a closed sign on the front door, she began making her way into town.

Several moments later, Rarity trotted down the streets of Ponyville, making her way to the store called "Barnyard Bargains", the business Filthy Rich owned and operated. It was a journey that she could make with her eyes closed, having done it so many times. However, she put that thought aside and continued to make her way through the cobblestone streets.

As she entered the main square, where Town Hall stood tall amongst the rest of the suburban houses, Rarity heard a familiar voice call out to her, catching her attention.

"Hey, Rarity," said the southwestern drawl of her good friend Applejack, who was trotting up to her.

"Hello, there, Applejack," said Rarity as she stopped trotting to allow her friend to catch up.

"Where are ya heading this mornin', sugar cube?" the orange workhorse asked.

Letting out a small sigh, Rarity said, "Barnyard Bargains."

"Again?" asked Applejack, tilting back her Stetson and looking at the unicorn with a shocked expression.

Rarity simply shrugged one shoulder and rolled her eyes.

Now, it was Applejack's turn to let out a sigh. "Is that no good filly botherin' yer sister again? Ah thought ya dealt with this the last time she pulled this."

"I did," the alabaster unicorn said softly, "But she's still bothering Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, so I must talk with her father and put an end to this, though I thought I had done so the last time."

Rarity slowly began to trot away when she stopped and looked at Applejack, a slightly worried look on her face. "Applejack," she asked, "What am I going to do?"

The earth pony shook her head and looked at the ground. "Ah don't know, sugar cube. Ah guess ya keep talkin' with her father until..."

"That's not what I mean, darling," said Rarity, holding up a hoof to silence her friend, "I was talking about Sweetie Belle; what am I going to do with her?"

Before either of them could elaborate on what she meant, Rarity's stomach let out a small growl; having been working all morning, she only now realized that she didn't eat anything in a while. Having heard the rumble of her friends' stomach, Applejack let out a small giggle, which she tried to suppress with a hoof.

"C'mon, sugar cube," she said with a smile, "What say we talk about this over breakfast, mah treat?"

"Oh, that's quite alright, Applejack," she said with a weary smile, "You don't have to do that."

"Ah insist," said the orange pony, "Ah was headin' ta Sugar Cube Corner ta pick up some ingredients anyway, so it's no big deal. C'mon, you'll be able ta think straight with a full belly."

Simply nodding her head, Rarity began following Applejack, the two of them heading towards Sugar Cube Corner for some breakfast.

A short time later, the two of them entered the local bakery. When they did, a pink blur appeared in front of them, startling both of them.

"Hey, girls!" shouted the pink party pony that began bouncing up and down in front of them.

"Oh, howdy, Pinkie Pie," said Applejack, a weary smile on her face.

"Hello, Pinkie, dear," said Rarity, sharing the same look as the workhorse.

"Have you two heard the big news?" asked Pinkie Pie, a smile brimming so wide on her face that it was a miracle the rest of her head was able to fit it, "I just heard about it from Twilight this morning!"

Applejack and Rarity exchanged an unsure look at one another before facing the pink pony, both of them shrugging at her.

Laughing, Pinkie Pie said, "Two new ponies are arriving to town tomorrow and you know what that means!"

"A party?" they asked in unison.

"YES! How did you two know?"

Exchanging a smile at one another, Applejack said, "Lucky guess."

"So, who are the two new ponies and where are they from?" asked Rarity.

Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, but froze where she stood. Then, she sat there, tapping her hoof on her chin, eyes looking towards the ceiling.

"Huh, I don't know, actually," she said, looking back at her friends, "I think Twilight was about to tell me, but I got so excited to throw a welcoming party for them to stay and hear who they are. Still, can you believe it? That means I have enough time to prepare the welcoming party for them!"

Before anything more could be said, Pinkie Pie disappeared in a blur, leaving the two ponies speechless where they stood.

After several moments went by, the two of them made their way to the counter and ordered their morning pastries and the ingredients Applejack needed for later. As they waited for their order, they decided to wait in one of the many tables in the sweets shop. When the two of them sat down, Rarity couldn't help but look out the window that was next to them. She couldn't help but stare at the ponies that were going about town, all smiles and with pep in their trots. Although she saw that some mares were with other mares, she couldn't help but stare at the mares that were with stallions, both with love in their eyes and smiles to match.

Noticing this, Applejack asked softly, "Is everything alright, sugar cube?"

Quickly, Rarity directed her attention to Applejack, who had a worried look on her face. Then, she let out a soft sigh and said, "It's nothing, darling."

"It has ta do with Sweetie Belle, doesn't it?"

Seeing that Applejack knew what was on her mind, she softly said, "I just can't help but think that our lives would be much simpler if she was with a colt instead of a filly, that's all."

Applejack raised an eyebrow and asked, "How so?"

"I mean, things would go...oh, how should one put this..._smoother_, I suppose, if she wasn't with Scootaloo," she explained, "Don't get me wrong, dear; I have nothing _against_ Scootaloo or their choice to be together, but it just seems like we're both becoming more miserable as time goes on."

"Ah understand how you can be miserable, havin' ta deal with everypony that bothers them and all," said Applejack, "But how in tarnation do ya know Sweetie Belle is miserable?"

"Oh, please, Applejack. I've put on enough fashion shows to know when somepony is feigning feelings for the sake of their kin, putting on a façade to ensure that her elders or significant others don't know their true feelings."

Scratching the back of her head, the orange mare asked, "Come again?"

Rolling her eyes, Rarity stated, "What I mean is that Sweetie Belle is only _pretending_ she's happy, even though she's not. I can see it in her eyes when she comes home from school. I hear it in the way she tells me about her day or when she and her friends are 'crusading' together."

"Uh-huh," said Applejack as she tried to understand the white unicorn, "What do ya think she's 'miserable' about?"

"Being with another filly, darling."

Applejack gave her a flat look. "How do ya know she's miserable being with another filly? What if she's just annoyed with bein' picked on by Diamond Tiara?"

Rarity looked at the ground and said, "Call it an older sister's intuition, if you will."

The orange mare face-hooved and said, "Need ah remind ya that ah have a younger sister as well?"

"Yes, but you're not going through this with Apple Bloom, are you?" Rarity shot back.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, both of them unsure of what to say to the other. The only sounds that could be heard were the entering and exiting of the other patrons, as well as the silent chatter of those who sat around them.

Eventually, Rarity looked at her friend and asked, "Applejack, how did you deal with all of this?"

"What do you mean?" asked Applejack.

Rarity said, "When you were told that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were 'together' like they are, how did you deal with it?"

The question caught the workhorse off guard for a moment, causing her to shift her weight in an uncomforting manner. Applejack feared that Rarity would, one day, ask her a question like this. Now that she had, she found herself unable t answer. She didn't know how to word it, in fear that it might upset or offend her friend. However, she couldn't _lie_ to her either.

"Well...ta be honest..." she said, lowering her voice into a whisper, "Ah...um...ya see, ah...er...well..."

Rarity noticed her inability to tell her and asked, "What's wrong, darling? Can't you tell me?"

Applejack looked at her friend and said, "Ah...ah can, but...ah...ah don't want ya to feel offended or anything."

Offering a polite and understanding smile, the fashionista said, "It's okay to tell me, Applejack. I promise I won't get mad."

Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, the orange earth pony said, "Somethin' tells me that...ya know...this whole thing, Sweetie and Scoots bein' together and all, is just...just..."

"Just what?"

Swallowing deeply, Applejack blurted out, "...just a phase."

"Just..." she said softly, a stunned look on her face, "...just a phase? In what way, dear?"

Looking at the ground, Applejack said softly, "Well...ah just feel that this whole thing is just a phase in her life. Maybe...maybe, it's just a brief thing that she'll grow out of it...in time."

"Could..." she said softly, mostly to herself, "Could that be true? Could all of this...just be a phase...something that she will outgrow in time?"

Rarity sat for a moment in silence, letting the words soak into her mind like a dried sponge getting hit with water. In all the time that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were together, the thought of all of it being a "phase" that she'll get over never crossed her mind. Now that the seeds of the idea were sown into her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about them. The more she thought about them, the more she began to believe that it might be true. As she continued to think that it could be true, the more relaxed she began to feel.

"Rare's, ah'm sorry," said Applejack, bringing her back from her thoughts, "Ah'm sorry if ah offended or made ya mad. Don't get me wrong, sugar cube; I'm mighty happy that they are together and support them one-hundred percent, but..."

Smiling, Rarity said, "Oh, don't be sorry, Applejack. If anything, you've made me feel quite, dare I say, _better_!"

"B-Better?" asked Applejack.

"Why, of course, darling. Maybe it's all just a simple phase of life, one that I'm sure she'll outgrow in due time. Silly me, why didn't I think of that before? Thank you so much for your help, dear. You've made me feel so much better."

With that, she wrapped her hooves around her friend, who wore a confused look on her face.

"Um..." she said, returning the hug in a hesitant manner, "Yer welcome?"

However, before either of them could release one another, a pink blur appeared out of nowhere with a wide smile on her face.

"GROUP HUG!" she shouted, as she wrapped her hooves around the two of them, bringing them into her forced hug.

"Pinkie Pie," Applejack struggled to say, "What the hay are ya..."

Still holding them in a tight hug, Pinkie Pie said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I just saw you two giving a hug to each other and I thought I'd join you!"

Both the earth pony and the unicorn rolled their eyes and offered the pink pony a weary smile. Soon, Pinkie Pie released the two of them and trotted behind the counter, leaving the two of them in surprise again. Then, she returned with a plate in her mouth. When she placed it down, they saw that it was the pastries they had ordered.

"Here's your order!" said Pinkie before disappearing behind the counter in a blur.

After a few silent moments, Rarity said, "Well, thanks again, Applejack. You've really helped me with this."

"If ya say so..." said Applejack as she scratched the back of her head.

Without saying another word, Rarity levitated a pastry and took a small nibble out of it. Applejack just sat there, unsure if she was really any help to her unicorn friend.

"So...Rarity," said the orange mare, "What're ya gonna do now?"

Wiping her muzzle with a napkin, Rarity smiled and said, "I'm still going to talk to Filthy Rich about his daughter, but I'm not going to worry about it so much. If what you say is true, and all of this is just a phase, then I have nothing more to worry about."

"If ya say so," she said hesitantly, as she picked up a pastry in her hooves and biting down on it.

With that, the two of them sat and ate their pastries in silence. As the thought of her sister liking another filly only being a phase that she'll soon overcome continued going through her mind, Rarity let out a contented sigh; the feeling of stress and worry was beginning to be alleviated from her body.

_Someday, Sweetie will meet a really nice colt, one that will capture her heart much more than any filly could_, thought Rarity, as she took another nibble into her delectable delight. _When that day comes, she'll realize that being with a filly was nothing more than a simple phase and will put it all behind her. What's the worst that could happen? _


	4. Chapter 3: Arduous Decisions

As the day slowly crept into late afternoon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves making their way from the schoolhouse to their designated homes. They wanted to go out and "crusade" for their beloved Cutie Marks that day, like they did most days, but the given circumstances prevented them from doing so; Apple Bloom had chores to do around the farm and Scootaloo had some errands to run with her parents. So, they agreed they'd go out tomorrow and continue their quest for their Marks then.

As Scootaloo slowed her scooter down in front of the Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle hopped out and removed the helmet from her head, placing it in the red wagon.

"See you tomorrow, Sweetie Belle," said Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in unison, waving goodbye to the unicorn filly before departing down the road.

Sweetie Belle waved a hoof at her friends as they slowly disappeared over the horizon. Then, she opened the door of the Boutique and made her way to her bedroom. On her way, she saw that Rarity was in the kitchen, making some tea over by the sink. However, as she passed the kitchen and began heading towards the stairs, she was surprised to see a brown stallion in a blue suit sitting at the table, a stern look on his face. She didn't need to take a closer look to know that the stallion was Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara's father.

Before she could fathom a thought on the matter, Rarity spotted her younger sister and said, "Oh, there you are, Sweet'ums. We've been waiting for you. Can you please accompany us for a moment?"

Her heart began to race as she entered the kitchen, taking a seat at the table with Rarity and Filthy Rich. When she did, she looked at the brown stallion and offered a smile at him. He smiled back and nodded his head, acknowledging her gesture.

Clearing her throat, Rarity said, "Sweetie Belle, I was talking to Filthy Rich about Diamond Tiara and her behavior towards you and Scootaloo. It seems we are both concerned about this matter and felt the need to talk with you about this."

Fixing his tie, Filthy said, "Allow me to be the first to apologize for my daughter's behavior towards you and your friend. I just want you to know that I have nothing against you or your friend being 'together' as you are. I blame myself for Diamond's behavior; I know I've been told repeatedly to stop her inappropriate behavior and I have been unable to do so as of late."

He straightened himself up before continuing. "I wanted to tell you this face-to-face so you know how sorry I am for this matter. I will see to it that my daughter stops harassing you and your friend as soon as possible."

"Oh," said Sweetie Belle, looking down at the ground, unsure of what to say. However, she decided to say the most appropriate thing she could say to him. "Thank you."

He nodded and got up from his seat, thanked Rarity for the tea he must have drank before, and departed for the door of the shop. When he was gone, Rarity had poured herself another cup of tea, or at least Sweetie Belle assumed it was another cup. When she was done, she sat at the table with her sister, both of them sitting in silence for a moment.

After what felt like an hour, even though it clearly wasn't, Sweetie Belle said, "Thank you, sis."

"No need to thank me," the older unicorn said with a smile, "I'm more than happy to help you in your time of need."

The white filly got up from the table to go to her room when Rarity asked her, "Sweetie Belle, can I talk to you about something?"

She stopped her trotting and looked at her sister. "Sure, what's up?"

Rarity rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof and asked, "How was your day at school?"

Blinking twice in surprise, she said, "Okay, I guess."

"You guess?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean, aside from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the day went pretty well."

If she hadn't just been talking with her father just a few moments ago, Rarity would have face-hooved. However, she simply smiled and said, "Well, hopefully Mr. Rich will stop this once and for all."

"Yeah, hopefully," Sweetie mumbled to herself.

A moment passed before Rarity asked, "So, how's Scootaloo?"

"Oh, she's fine," said the filly, offering a smile, "She had some grocery shopping to do with her parents today and Apple Bloom had some chores to do at Sweet Apple Acres, so we couldn't go 'crusading' today."

"I see," said Rarity, taking a sip of her hot beverage.

As silence dawned on them once again, Sweetie Belle smiled and began making her way to the stairs. Like before, she only took a few steps before Rarity called out to her, stopping her again.

"Sweetie..." she said, a look of worry on her face.

"Yes?" said Sweetie Belle, a small hint of annoyance in her tone.

Letting out a sigh, Rarity said, "I need to ask you a serious question and I need you to give me an honest answer."

The moment the statement left her sister's mouth, the annoyance that was inside her had vaporized into nothing, leaving only concern and worry. She trotted over to the table and sat down next to her sister, the look never leaving her face.

The moment Rarity saw the look on Sweetie Belle's face, she began to question whether or not to talk to her sister about this, especially now. Doubt began running through her mind, the decision to ask her sister what she was going to ask her becoming more and more difficult with every passing second.

_Don't do it, Rarity,_ she thought to herself. _She's fine the way she is. There's no need to be planting seeds of doubt in her mind. But...but I need to know. I need to know the truth._

"What's wrong?" Sweetie Belle asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Well...I'm not sure how to put this..." she said, fumbling with a curl in her mane as she spoke, "...I suppose the 'direct approach' is probably best."

She cleared her throat, took a small breath and asked, "Sweetie Belle, are you happy being with Scootaloo?"

Sweetie Belle stared at her for a few moments, not really sure what she meant by that. However, she decided to answer it the way she thought it should be answered. "Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

She offered a smile at Rarity, hopping that she had answered properly. However, Rarity shook her head, her mane bouncing around as she did.

"What I mean is...well..." she said, sighing again, "Do you...you know..._regret_ being with her?"

"'Regret?'" Sweetie Belle asked, raising an eyebrow, "Of course not. Why would I regret being with her?"

"Well..." Rarity began, looking around the room, not really sure how she would react to what she was about to say, "Hypothetically speaking, is there ever a thought in your mind...you know, a tiny part of you...so small that you can't even see it..."

Before she could continue, Sweetie Belle cocked her head to one said and asked, "Hypo...what?"

Smiling, Rarity said, "'Hypothetically'. Just a scenario that is not real, but used for the sake of the question."

"Oh," said Sweetie Belle, still unsure what it meant.

Sweat began forming on the back of her neck, causing her to scratch at it with a hoof. Rarity could see that the small filly was getting more and more suspicious with each sentence that came out of her mouth, making her decision to talk about this even harder than before.

Taking one last breath, she said, "Do you ever think that you'd be much happier with a colt instead of a filly?"

The moment she asked the question, the white filly's eyes went wide with shock and confusion; it was a look that Rarity was hoping she wouldn't see. Now that she was looking at it, she regretted even asking her the question.

Then, Sweetie Belle's eyes furrowed and she asked, "What are you saying?"

Her heart pounding in her chest, practically hurting her ribcage, Rarity said, "All I'm saying is that, maybe...just maybe...you'd be much happier with a colt instead of a filly."

"What makes you think I'm not happy?" she asked.

Sighing again, Rarity said, "It's just that...well...you always seem to come home upset because of the torment and ridicule you get from the foals at school. I was just thinking that..."

In a fit of anger, Sweetie Belle slammed her hooves on the table, taking the older unicorn off guard for a moment.

"I _AM_ happy!" she shouted, her voice cracking, "Maybe it's _YOU_ who isn't happy that I'm with Scootaloo! I thought you said you were supportive of us being together!"

"I am," said Rarity, her tone becoming more firm and direct, "It's a hypothetical question Sweetie Belle and it doesn't give you any right to raise your voice at me."

The moment the statement left her mouth, Sweetie Belle lowered herself in shame; she had lost herself in the moment, causing her to raise her voice at her sister. Seeing that she had done wrong, she softly said, "I'm...I'm sorry."

Lowering her own tone, she said, "No, Sweet'ums, I'm the one who should be sorry."

Then, she got up and stood next to her sister, lightly wrapping her hooves around her in an embrace. "I am supportive of you two being together," she said softly, "It's just that I see you upset almost every day you come home. I just want what's best for you. I'm looking out for you in any way I can. I don't want you to think that I am not behind you and your choice to be with Scootaloo."

"It's okay," she said, offering a hug in response, "But I am happy with her. It's just Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon that is making me feel upset, honest."

Smiling, Rarity said, "Well, hopefully that will all end soon."

With that, they released their embrace, allowing Sweetie Belle to make her way up to her room. When she was out of earshot, Rarity sighed and sat back down, taking another sip of her tea.

Then, she mumbled to herself, "Well, that went swimmingly."

Upstairs, Sweetie Belle went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Then, she let out a sigh and trotted over to her bed. There, she lied on her back and stared up at the ceiling, letting the conversation that just transpired sink into her mind. As she thought about it more and more, she began to question herself, not sure if there was a ring of truth behind any of what Rarity had said.

As the thoughts continued to run through her mind, Sweetie Belle got up and made her way to the window. She looked at the streets of Ponyville in all its glory, as ponies of different shapes and sizes made their way to and fro. As she continued to watch the citizens of their home town going about their business, she couldn't help but ask herself something out loud.

"Would I really be happy with a colt instead of a filly?" she asked, allowing the question to wrap around her mind. Truthfully, as much as she wanted to say "no" to the question, she couldn't because she hadn't been with a colt in order to say "no". However, it because of this that she couldn't say "yes" either. Therefore, the question went unanswered as she trotted away from the window and over to her dresser.

There, she had a picture of her and her fellow Crusaders, all of them with smile on their faces. As she looked at the picture, she smiled and sighed, allowing the thoughts that were there to dissipate into nothing.

"It doesn't matter anyway," she said to herself, "I'm happy being with Scootaloo and that's all that matters."

Looking away from the picture, she lied on her bed again, this time, with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes softly and said aloud, "We're together and we're happy. What could possibly change that?"

* * *

He sat in a seat of a large, refine building, a structure he wasn't used to being in. The comfortable chair he sat in wasn't anything like he was used to either; he'd been in chairs that were far more comfortable than this one. However, he didn't let those thoughts distract him from why they were here.

As he waited, he tapped his hoof on the hardwood floor, listening to the sound that it made. Nope, it definitely wasn't what he was used to, but he decided to get used to it; he was here for Celestia knows how long, so he figured it was best to stop comparing it to his former home and get used to it.

After a while, the door that was near him opened and two ponies walked out. One was his older brother and the other was an amber mare, whom he was told was the mayor of the town they were in, Ponyville.

"Everything is in order for your brother," the mayor said with a smile, "He'll be ready to start first thing tomorrow."

"Great," said the older stallion. "Is there anything he'll need?"

Without answering, the mayor pulled out a few scrolls and handed it to him. "Everything is here on these lists. We'll inform the local school about him starting, so he'll receive a nice, warm welcome."

"Thank you so much, ma'am," he said, offering a hoof-shake to the mayor.

Then, he and his older brother left the building, known as Town Hall, and made their way to the small inn that they were going to be staying in for a while.

As they trotted, the older stallion said, "Well, little guy, you'll be starting school tomorrow. Are you excited?"

The young foal sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess so."

Seeing that he wasn't as excited as he was letting on, the older stallion said, "Hey, don't be like that. I know this isn't what we wanted, but we have to be here. It was a hard decision to leave home, but it's what had to be done. Things will get better, I promise."

The young colt said nothing. He just sighed and continued to walk with his brother to the inn, their new "home sweet home".

After they checked in and made their way into their two-bedroom room, they decided to have some dinner. As the older of the two prepared their meal, the small colt sat at the table, staring blankly at the tile floor.

Seeing that he was still upset, the stallion said, "I know you're still pretty upset that we had to leave home, but we should make the best of it, you know. Who knows, maybe you'll make a lot of new friends when you start school tomorrow."

Sighing again, the young foal rolled his eyes and said, "I doubt that. You know all the new foals get picked on their first day in a new school."

The stallion scoffed, "That's not true. You weren't picked on when you started school before."

Smiling, the foal said, "Yeah, that's true. But I didn't make too many friends in school either."

He trotted over to his younger kin, rubbing his hoof on his back, "Don't think that way, little bro. This is a different town with different ponies. Once you see that the ponies here are nice, you'll make a ton of new friends."

The foal smiled at his brother again, offering him a light hug. The stallion returned the gesture before releasing it to tend to their dinner before it burned.

As he continued to make their meal, the young colt sighed and looked at the ground, letting his thoughts continue to float around his head.

_Maybe he's right,_ he thought to himself. _Maybe things will be different here than they were back at home. Maybe moving here won't be a bad thing after all._

However, the thoughts of his friendless past resurfaced back in his mind, causing his thoughts to change.

_Who am I kidding? No one really liked me before and I don't think they'll like me here,_ he thought again, sighing as he did. _How is this place any different? What could possibly ever change?_


	5. Chapter 4: New Arrival

"Okay, children, let's settle down," said Ms. Cheerilee as she trotted from her desk to the center of the classroom, overlooking the children.

When she did, all the talkative fillies and colts stopped their chatter and focused on the cerise earth pony in the front of the room, smiles on all their faces.

"Now children, we have a new student joining us today," she said, pointing to the door with a hoof. All the foals looked at the door to see it open a little and a young colt slowly trot into the room, a saddlebag around his back.

He was a gray pony with a charcoal mane, lavender eyes and no Cutie Mark on his flank. As he trotted to the center of the room, next to the teacher, he took one quick glance at the ponies in the room before quickly averting his gaze to the floor. As he did, one of his fore-hooves began making tiny circles in the floorboards.

"Everypony," said Ms. Cheerilee, slightly catching the young foal off guard, "This is Rumble. He just moved here from Cloudsdale. I hope each and every one of you will make him feel welcome. Now, Rumble, why don't you take your seat."

She pointed to one of the empty seats in the back of the room with a hoof, a smile still plastered on her face. He looked up at her, smiled a quick smile back, and began making his way past the other students. As he did, he saw that a few of them were smiling back while others were giving him a look, a look he was all too familiar with.

As he continued to make his way past the students, he thought he heard one of the fillies mutter to another, "Oh great, another 'blank flank.'" The moment he heard this, he looked at the ground and sighed, taking his seat without saying a word.

When he looked up, he saw that few of the students were still looking at him, smiling at him and greeting them with hushed welcomes. He would smile and wave at them, but Rumble didn't say anything to them; what could he say to a bunch of ponies he didn't know and were, probably, silently judging him.

As he took a closer look at the ponies around him, he noticed that most of them were earth ponies. He began feeling even more insecure now that he realized he wasn't the same species as the others. Rumble's heart began beating faster and his cheeks started feeling warm on his face. However, when he caught a glance at an orange Pegasus that was a few seats in front of him, he let out a relaxed sigh; at least he wasn't the only Pegasus in the room. Then, his eye caught a glimpse of a white unicorn filly. When he did, his heart began to slow to normal, slightly easing his tension, though not fully.

Soon, Ms. Cheerilee began her sermon for the day, teaching them about something to do with math. In all honesty, Rumble wasn't really paying much attention to what she was saying; he was still extremely nervous about being in his new environment to really listen to her lesson on how to add numbers or whatever. He just looked around the room, catching a glimpse at the other students in the room.

He saw that two ponies were busy passing notes during the lecture, some were struggling to stay awake, while others were fully alert and mouth-writing the notes in their books. At some point, he decided to make himself less of a spectacle by taking out a notebook and a writing implement from his saddlebag. Now, if he could only direct his attention to the lesson at hoof, he'd be good.

The rest of the morning seemed to drag on like this for Rumble, him trying to pay attention to whatever the school teacher was teaching. However, try as he might, he was just too nervous to really take any notes on any of the lessons begin taught.

Soon, his heart jumped in his chest as the school bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. When it did, all the fillies and colts in the room got up and slowly headed for the door to the playground, him being the last one to get up from his seat with his bagged lunch in his mouth.

Soon, he trotted outside and overlooked the other foals either munching on their lunch or playing around in the playgrounds. As he made his way down the steps and towards the benches that were all around, some of the other foals went up to him to greet him and introduce themselves. He would respond with quick responses before running out of things to say to them. Soon, he trotted to the nearest bench and sat down, getting ready to eat whatever it was his brother packed for him; something good, he hoped.

However, before he could open his lunch, he felt two pairs of eyes watching him, making him feel very uncomfortable. Rumble turned his head to see that two fillies were watching him with incredulous eyes. He offered them a smile and got ready to say hello when the pink one with a tiara on her head spoke up first.

"So, you're the new pony on the block, huh?" she asked in what sounded like a snooty tone.

"Well...um..." he said, unsure of what to say to her, "Yeah, I...I guess I am..."

"Hmph," she said, as she and her friend began walking around his backside, almost as if they were checking him out. Not sure what they were doing, all he did was sit there and watch.

Soon, the other one with the white glasses on her nose said, "Looks like you don't have your Cutie Mark, either."

Looking at his bare flank, Rumble lowered his head in shame, trying to cover it up with his tail.

"Well, don't you worry your little head about it, Rumble," said the pink one as she ran a hoof through his slicked back mane, "You're not the only one without their Cutie Mark in the school, you know. Right, Silver Spoon?"

Silver Spoon nodded and said, "It's not like you're the only one who isn't, like, special."

Rumble felt his heart begin to crumble as the two ponies continued to torment him. Although he was saddened and feeling more and more depressed with every word that came out of their mouths, a part of him couldn't help but say "I told you so"; he had received this kind of ridicule when he used to live in Cloudsdale, though not to this extent, he must admit. Getting a similar kind of treatment here was nothing new to him, but no matter how used to it he was, it still hurt.

However, the mood all changed when another voice yelled out, "Hey, leave him alone!"

The moment he heard the voice call out, Rumble turned his head to see that three fillies were standing behind them, all of them with angry looks on their faces. In the center was a yellow earth pony with a red bow on her head. To her left was the orange Pegasus from before while, to the earth pony's right, was a white unicorn.

"Leave him alone, Diamond Tiara!" said the yellow filly, who appeared to have a Southwestern accent.

"Yeah, do you have to pick on everypony without a Cutie Mark?" asked the orange Pegasus.

"What's it to you?" shot back Diamond Tiara.

"Leave him alone!" said the white unicorn, whose voice appeared to crack as she spoke.

It was then that the two bullies looked around them to see that most of the other foals were looking at their commotion. Many of them were just staring at the scene playing out while others sided with the three fillies that stood up to them. The moment they saw they were outnumbered, the two bullies muttered something under their breath, stuck their noses in the air and trotted away, leaving him alone.

When they were out of earshot, the three fillies walked up to him, all of them with smiles on their faces. The other speculators went back to whatever is was they were doing prior to the spats that just happened.

"Are you okay?" asked the yellow earth pony.

"I'm fine," he said, looking at the table before him.

"Don't worry," said the orange Pegasus, "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are _always_ picking on everypony."

"Well...um..." he said, feeling his cheeks beginning to feel warm, "Thanks."

"No problem!" said the yellow filly.

With that, he directed his attention back to his lunch, unsure of what to say next. As he began eating his food, he couldn't help but feel the three fillies' eyes still watching him. Occasionally, he would look at them with his peripheral vision to see them with smiles on their faces. When he did, he'd quickly look away.

_Why are they staring at me?_ Rumble couldn't help but ask himself as he ate his lunch. However, he figured it was best to let them be and ignore them; they'd stop staring at him, eventually.

Seeing that he wasn't saying anything, Sweetie Belle looked at her fellow crusaders, all of them shrugging at each other.

Clearing her throat, Scootaloo asked, "So, your name is Rumble, right?"

Since he had food in his mouth, Rumble looked back at them and nodded, chewing a little faster to be able to speak. Unfortunately for him, he must have taken too big a bite because he needed to chew a lot longer than he really should be.

"My name's Scootaloo," she said, offering her hoof to him. Seeing the gesture, he extended his hoof and shook it.

"The name's Apple Bloom," said the earth pony, following the same motion as Scootaloo.

When he turned his attention to the unicorn, she smiled, extended her hoof to him and said, "I'm Sweetie Belle."

He shook her hoof, finally swallowed his food and said, "Hi."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rumble," said Apple Bloom, as the three of them began trotting away.

"Nice to meet you, too," said the colt. As they left, he called out, "And thanks, again!"

When he did, Sweetie Belle looked back at him and smiled, waving a hoof at him. When she did, Rumble could have sworn his heart sped up a few beats. The moment he did, he turned his head away and looked back at the table. Taking a deep breath, he could have sworn he felt his cheeks were beginning to get warm.

However, he decided to let the thought slide and finish his lunch. As he did, he couldn't help but look back at the three fillies that had helped him with the bullies. As he watched the three fillies, standing together and talking amongst themselves, Rumble couldn't help but focus his attention on the white filly, Sweetie Belle. There was something about her that made him stare at her, barely blinking as he did.

As she spoke with her friends, her mane bounced around with its tiny curls and dual color. He recalled how she spoke and couldn't help but smile, remembering how her voice had cracked in a way that made it sound cute. Then, he recalled the smile she had given him as she trotted away with her friends. The other fillies in the classroom smiled at him, sure, but there was something about the way that this filly smiled that made his cheeks turn an interesting shade of crimson.

However, when the filly turned her head in his direction, he quickly looked away, looking back at the table where his lunch was sitting.

_What's going on?_ Rumble asked himself. _This has never happened to me before._

As the thoughts kept floating around in his mind, he continued eating his lunch, trying against himself to keep his eyes focused on what he was doing without looking back at the unicorn filly. Although he was successful at keeping his gaze away, that wasn't enough to keep his thoughts off of her.

As the image of the unicorn crossed his mind again, he felt something get caught in his throat, causing him to cough. As he began coughing uncontrollably, he grabbed his drink as fast as he could and began drinking it, clearing his throat. At some point, he forgot to completely chew his food and swallowed it whole by mistake. After he was done with his temporary choking, the only thing that kept coming to his mind was one simple question: _what's happening to me?_

When the school bell rang, he quickly packed up his trash, threw it away and made his way back into the classroom. As Rumble made his way up the stairs, he decided to shake the thoughts of the unicorn from his mind and focus on getting through the rest of the day.

The rest of the school day seemed to liven up for him ever since then. He was able to pay attention to Ms. Cheerilee and to what she was teaching. However, every now and then, he kept looking back at Sweetie Belle for a moment before looking away. It went on like this until the last bell rang, ending school for the day.

"Have a good day, everypony," said Ms. Cheerilee, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

As all the fillies and colts began leaving, Rumble began packing his things and left with the others as opposed to leaving last. When he trotted outside, he saw his older brother, Thunderlane, standing there waiting for him, a smile on his face.

"Hey, little guy," he said, patting his hoof on his back, "How was school?"

"Great," Rumble said, as the two of them began making their way down the dirt path.

"How's your new teacher?" he asked, "Is she nice?"

"Yeah, she's nice," said Rumble, looking at the ground for a moment

"How about the other kids in your class?" he asked, "Did you make any new friends?"

Before he answered, Rumble looked behind him to see the three fillies from before getting into some sort of wagon that was attached to a scooter. When he saw the white filly putting on her helmet and getting in the wagon, he turned to his brother and said, "I think I did."

"See, what did I tell you?" Thunderlane said, "I told you you'd make friends here."

Rumble nodded his head at his brother, smiling as he did. However, it was short lived as his thoughts focused back on Sweetie Belle and what had happened to him earlier. Should he tell his brother about what happened or wait until he, himself, knew what happened?

"Come on, Rumble," called out Thunderlane, "We have to hurry if we're going to make it on time."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he noticed that he was falling behind a little bit. He trotted faster until he caught up with the older Pegasus.

"On time for what?" he asked when he was next to Thunderlane again.

"While you were at school, we got an invitation to a place called, 'Sugar Cube Corner'," he explained, "Some sort of party is being held for us later, so we need to hurry home and get ready."

"A party?" asked Rumble, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what it said," said Thunderlane as he smiled at him, "Who knows, maybe it's some sort of welcoming party or something."

The colt nodded in understanding as the two of them neared the inn. As they entered the building and headed towards their room, Rumble still couldn't shake the filly from his mind.

_It's probably nothing_, Rumble thought to himself as the two of them entered their room. _It probably means that we'll be good friends or something. I haven't made too many friends before, so that's what it must be. Besides, she's not the only filly I've talked to today. I shouldn't think too deeply into this._

As he placed his saddlebags down in his room, a thought kept resurfacing in the back of his head, a thought that told him that "good friends" was a really big understatement. However, he shook the thought from his mind and focused on the welcome party that they were invited to. He was just friends with Sweetie Belle, as he was with the other students in the class, like Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. There was no reason he should feel any different towards her than anypony else.

Finally convincing himself that they were just friends, Rumble began getting ready for the party they were invited to, hoping that it wouldn't be anything _too_ extravagant.


	6. Chapter 5: So Many Surprises

"Wait for it..." said the pink party pony that knelt down in front of them. Her forearms were extended and an extremely wide, toothy grin was on her face. Behind her, resting on four wheels, was wagon-type contraption with multicolored flags and several tubes where confetti and streamers shot out. In the very front of it was what looked like an oven, big enough for a small cake to be placed inside.

Not sure what to expect, Thunderlane and Rumble exchanged confused glances at each other before looking back at the pink pony that knelt before them. They had walked inside the building known as Sugar Cube Corner to see that the entire establishment was dark. Then, in the blink of an eye, the pink pony, who addressed herself as Pinkie Pie, turned the lights on, hitting the wagon device so that music would play, and began singing a song that welcomed the two of them to Ponyville. Judging by the way she was jumping around and getting into the music and her song, they could tell that she was a little on the hyper side of things.

Now that her song was finished, she knelt before them with a huge smile on her face, waiting for something to happen. Then, they heard a small _ding_ sound and the door of the small oven opened up. However, instead of a cake coming out, the two Pegasi were hit with even more confetti than they thought possible. Once the confetti stopped, they saw that two of the cylindrical tubes in the way back of the wagon began to shake, as if something was trying to come out of it. The two brothers watched in surprised as a cream-colored substance flew out of it and landed directly on the three of them, Pinkie Pie included.

When it had stopped, the three of them opened their eyes to see, and smell, that the cream-colored substance was cake batter.

Before they could say anything, Pinkie Pie began to laugh. "Why do I always put confetti in the oven and the cake in the confetti cannon?" she asked in between her laughing. Then, she stepped out of the batter so fast that the cake mold hadn't moved from its original place, leaving a molded version of the pink pony. Then, in one bite, she gobbled it up and swallowed it, letting out a small belch as she did, causing her to laugh again.

Although they were a little shocked that they were covered from head to hoof in cake batter, the two brothers let out a laugh and began cleaning themselves off; they had to admit that is was funny, though unexpected. As they cleaned themselves off, they finally got a good look at the rest of the establishment and went wide eyed at what they saw.

The entire bakery was designed to be a welcoming party for the two of them. There were balloons, streamers, several tables lined with various kinds of sweet treats and punch, and giant banner that said "Welcome to Ponyville" in different colors. As if that wasn't enough, a large mob of ponies of different colors, sizes and species all said "welcome to Ponyville" in unison; judging by the numbers, they were convinced that almost everyone in town had come, though it was probably impossible to everyone inside the small building.

Smiling, Thunderlane said, "Thanks everypony. Thanks a lot!"

"So, were you two surprised? Where you? Huh, huh, HUH?" asked Pinkie Pie, as she leaned in within close proximity of Thunderlane's face.

Taking a few steps back and shifting his eyes back in forth in a mix of confusion and uncertainty, he smiled an awkward smile and said, "Uh...I sure was...yeah."

"YAY!" shouted the party pony as she bounced up and down, going so fast it was hard to make out any of her equine features, "Let's get this party started!"

With that, music began playing, provided by the town DJ, Vinyl Scratch, and the welcoming party had officially begun. Everypony that was present came to welcome the two Pegasi to their town, including the mayor, who Thunderlane has spoken to the day prior. Amidst the greetings and welcoming, Rumble couldn't help feel his cheeks beginning to get a little warm; he wasn't used to a big party like this thrown for them, nor was he used to getting so much attention at one time.

"You two are going to LOVE it here!" said Pinkie Pie, as she began bouncing up and down in rapid succession again, "This is the best place in all of Equestria! We have so many things to do, so many places to see, so many stores to shop in, so many friends to make, so many sweets to eat, so many meals to cook, so many..."

Thunderlane couldn't help but smile sheepishly as the pink pony continued with her hyper-babble, not seeming to catch her breath as she continued listing all the things they could do in town. Fortunately for him, a lavender unicorn trotted next to her and put her hoof in her mouth, silencing her long, never ending chain of babble.

"I think they get the point," she said, "Why don't you go and make sure there's enough food for everypony."

Pinkie let out a huge gasp, no doubt making up for the lack of air in her lungs. "That's a party-rific idea! You two have to try my cupcakes! They're simply to _die_ for!"

Before anyone could say anything, the earth pony disappeared in a blur towards the back of the establishment and through two double doors; it was pretty obvious that the doors lead into the kitchen area of the bakery.

Clearing her throat, the unicorn said, "My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet the two of you."

"Nice to meet you," said Rumble, offering a polite smile.

"Same here," said Thunderlane, extended his hoof to her, "Thank you so much for throwing this party for us."

"Don't thank me," said Twilight, exchanging a hoof-shake with the brown Pegasus, "You have Pinkie Pie to thank for that."

"Does she always make a big deal about every new arrival that comes to town?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a sheepish grin.

"Oh please," said Twilight with a roll of her eyes, "She makes a big deal about everything. You should have been here when she threw a 'I-made-a-new-recipe-everypony-try-it Party' last week. She accidently poured syrup in her cake batter and baked it. She was so intrigued by it that she threw a party to celebrate her newfound recipe."

"Wow. Pinkie throws a party for just about anything, doesn't she?"

"You have no idea..."

The two of them exchanged a laugh as Pinkie Pie returned with a tray of cupcakes in her mouth and grin on her face. She placed the tray down on the nearest table and began rubbing her hoof on her chin, lost in a thought of some kind.

"Hmmm, this needs something..." she said to herself as Thunderlane and Twilight approached the table to have a cupcake. When they did, Thunderlane took one and began munching away at it, a satisfied smile on his face. However, Twilight looked at them and cocked her head at the sight of them.

"Hey, Pinkie," she asked, snapping the earth pony from her thoughts, "I thought you were going to make your popular rainbow cupcakes for the party."

Pinkie let out a snorted laugh. "Oh, come on, Twilight. Those were good, but they're so last story! I wanted to try something new for our new guests!"

Hearing her statement, Twilight shook her head, like doing so would magically make sense of what she said. "Pinkie...what are you talk-"

"I KNOW! PUNCH!" she shouted, her thoughts focusing in on what she was missing. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished to the kitchen again, leaving the two ponies stunned in surprise.

Twilight blinked in surprise as Thunderlane asked, "What is she talking about?"

Offering an awkward smile all her own, she shrugged and said, "Who knows? That's Pinkie Pie for you."

After letting out another chuckle, Thunderlane saw several foals beginning to gather together near one of the tables near the front door. The stallion turned to his younger sibling and asked, "Are those foals in your class, Rumble?"

The small Pegasus took a look at the group. He recognized many of them from his school and was fortunate enough not to see the two bullies that had given him a hard time. Then, he turned to his brother and nodded.

"So, why don't you go hang out with them?" he asked, smiling as he did.

"Oh...uh...I don't know..." the colt said nervously.

"Don't worry, Rumble. They're not going to bite you."

Rumble couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his statement. Then, swallowing nervously, he slowly began making his way over to the other foals. When they saw him approach, they smiled and waved at him, reintroducing themselves like they had at school. All the while, Rumble kept shifting his eyes back and forth at the crowd, a smile on his face as he did so. He kept looking for the three fillies that had helped him with the bullies before, Sweetie Belle and the other two that he couldn't recall their names. Where were they? Were they not coming?

Letting out a small sigh, he refocused his attention back to the other foals. He already cleared his mind of the white filly in question and he didn't want to have a mental relapse. However, a small part of him hoped that she would come so that he could, at least, talk to her.

* * *

"Come on, ya'll," said Applejack as she, Rarity, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders approached the bakery, "We're already late as it is. Let's get a move on before the party ends."

"My apologies, again, Applejack," said Rarity, as she fixed the yellow sun hat that rested atop her head, "It was difficult picking out the perfect outfit for such an occasion."

"Ah know," said the orange pony, "Let's just get there, lickity split."

As the two mares trailed behind, the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted ahead of them, talking in whispers amongst themselves.

"Are you guys sure you want to do this?" asked Scootaloo.

"Of course I'm sure," said Sweetie Belle, "It's the perfect gift for Rumble."

"Ah agree," said Apple Bloom, "Don't ya think it'll be a good idea, Scoots?"

"I don't know," said the Pegasus filly, "Something tells me that it's not a good idea. I mean, what if he takes it as an insult or something?"

"He won't," said the yellow earth pony, "Besides, we could use all the help we can get."

"Don't worry, Scootaloo," said the unicorn filly as she nestled against her neck, "What's the worst that could happen?"

Letting out a small sigh, Scootaloo said, "Alright, I guess it's worth a shot."

"Then it's settled," said Apple Bloom.

When they finished their conversation, the group of ponies had reached the bakery where the welcoming party was in full swing. As they approached the front door, they heard the music playing from within. Immediately, the three fillies galloped to the front door to enter the party, Rarity and Applejack following close behind.

The moment they went inside, they spotted Rumble talking to the other classmates by the front door. As the three of them bee-lined to him, Rarity and Applejack trotted to the other guest of honor, Thunderlane, to introduce themselves. It wasn't hard to pick him out among the crowd of ponies because he was the center of attention, talking with the ponies that stood around and listened to him. As they approached they heard him talking to the crowd.

"Well, it was because of personal issues that we had to move here," he said, chuckling as he did.

"So, does that mean you won't be staying long?" asked a mare standing next to him.

"I'm not sure," he said, "By the way things are looking, we're going to be here for a while. If you all are as hospitable as you are now, I might not want to leave."

That statement got a few laughs from the ponies as he took a sip of punch from his glass. As he drank, he saw the two mares that approached from the corner of his eyes. The moment they made contact with the white unicorn with the yellow sun hat and pretty yellow dress, adorned with various gemstones along the waist and neckline, he nearly choked on his drink. After beating his chest with his hoof to regain his composure, he turned his attention to the two mares, the unicorn and the orange earth pony with a brown Stetson on her head.

"Howdy," said the orange mare, tipping her hat as she spoke, "You must be Thunderlane, the new arrival in town. The name's Applejack. Pleasure to be makin' yer acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you, Applejack," he said, "You and your family run Sweet Apple Acres, right?"

"Darn tootin'," she said, "How did you know that?"

"Oh please; anypony who's anypony knows Sweet Apple Acres."

Laughing, she extended a hoof to him, in which he followed suit by reaching out with his own. Then, he focused his hoof to the unicorn, who smiled and returned the gesture.

"It's nice to meet you, Thunderlane," she said.

"Hello," he said, taking her hoof with his own bringing it to his lips, planting a small kiss on it when he did, "The pleasure is all mine. I have to say that that is one beautiful dress you are wearing."

The comment made her cheeks go red. "Oh, this silly thing, it's just a little something I made at the Boutique, is all."

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. "'The Boutique', you mean the Carousel Boutique?"

"Yes," she said, tilting her head in confusion.

"You're name wouldn't be Rarity, would it?"

Rarity's eyes widened with surprise. "You've heard of me?"  
"Of course, you're the famous dressmaker I've heard so much about," he said, "A friend of yours named Rainbow Dash has brought you up on occasion, especially when we're on weather duty together."

"Oh, has she?" she said nervously, fumbling with a curl in her mane.

"You bet," he said, offering her a polite smile, "It's an honor to meet you, Rarity. Would you like me to get you and your friend some punch?"

Not able to find a response, Rarity nodded her head at him before turning away to hide her red cheeks. When he was out of eyeshot, Applejack nudged Rarity on the shoulder in a playful manner.

"Ah think he likes you," she said, low enough for only them to here.

"Well..." she said, trying her best to suppress a small giggle, "He is kind of cute..."

* * *

The second Rumble's eyes fell upon the three of them entering the bakery, his cheeks began to heat up and his heart began to race uncontrollably. As if his eyes were on auto lock-on, they instantly looked at Sweetie Belle, causing his cheeks to go from a light shade of red to a dark crimson. He tried to look away, focusing his attention at the other foals that were talking to him, but no matter how hard he tried, his eyes kept shifting back to the white filly and her friends.

When the three fillies spotted him, they exchanged a quick glance and head nod at one another before they approached him. As they did, Rumble could feel his legs tense up, almost as if they had gone completely numb.

"Hi, Rumble," said the three of them in unison.

"H-Hi..." he said. In his head, he tried to remember the names of the other two ponies next to Sweetie Belle, so he wouldn't make a fool of himself by remembering one and not the others. All he could recollect was that one had something to do with apples while the other sounded like the word _scooter_. Try as he might, he just couldn't remember.

"We'd like to talk to you," said Apple Bloom, offering a polite smile.

"We have a surprise gift for you," chimed in Scootaloo.

"O-Okay," said Rumble, trying to focus his attention on all three of them instead of just the one.

"Come on, we'll tell you outside. That way, you can hear us," said Sweetie Belle, as the three of them turned and began heading towards the door again.

As they gestured for him to follow, he could feel the bottom of his hooves beginning to tingle. Anxiety began racing through his body as he struggled to get his body to move. Soon, when the three of them were out of the sweets shop, he felt his legs able to move again. Taking a deep breath, he followed the three of them out of the bakery, all the while, wondering what it was they wanted to give him as a gift. As he made his way to the door, he could have sworn he heard some of the other foals beginning to giggle.

When he walked outside, he saw the three of them standing there waiting for him with a smile plastered on all their faces. This made his anxiety intensify as he stopped his trotting in front of them.

"Okay, Rumble, are you ready for your gift?" asked Scootaloo, her tiny wings unfurling as she spoke.

"Sure," he said, looking around for whatever it was they were going to give him.

"Well, we saw that you don't have a Cutie Mark, just like the three of us," explained Apple Bloom, "And we were wonderin' if you'd like to join us."

"'Join us'?" he asked nervously, "Join in what?"

"In our crusade, our mission, to find our special talents and earn our Cutie Marks," said Sweetie Belle, "Our gift to you is asking you if you'd like to join..."

Then, the three of them said in unison, "…THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

"'The Cutie Mark Crusaders?'" he asked, "What is that?"

"It's our team," said Scootaloo, "Where we try and find our special talents and earn our Cutie Marks."

"We're the only members right now," explained Apple Bloom, "But we're always lookin' to expand!"

"How..." he began, trying to find the right words to say, "How do you try and find your special talents?"

"By meeting at our clubhouse and coming up with different things to do that will help us find what we're good at," answered Sweetie Belle, "Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and I have been trying, but we've been quite unsuccessful. We figured if you joined us, then maybe the four of us will earn our Cutie Marks together."

The moment the answer was stated, a few thoughts began running through Rumble's mind. For starters, he was glad that Sweetie Belle had said the names of the other two; now if he could only remember them from now on, he'd be good. Secondly, if he agreed to join their group, not only will he be able to have friends that appreciated him for being a 'blank flank', but he'd also be able to spend time with Sweetie Belle. If he was lucky, he'd be able to muster up enough courage to talk to her and get to know her better.

Straightening his posture, Rumble smiled and said, "Sure, I'd like that a lot."

"Great!" they said in unison, causing the colt to be taken aback by their sudden expression of joy.

He shifted his eyes back and forth, not sure what to do now. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, we're having a crusader's meeting tomorrow after school," said Apple Bloom, "Just wait for us and we'll lead you to the clubhouse."

"Okay," said Rumble, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Scootaloo as she extended her hoof to him, "It's the least we can."

Rumble took her hoof and shook it. Then, Apple Bloom offered the same gesture, followed closely by Sweetie Belle. However, when he shook the white unicorn's hoof, their eyes met for the first time since he first arrived. When they did, the two of them found each other staring at one another, both of which didn't seem to blink.

Rumble's heart, which was beating rapidly mere seconds ago, seemed to slow down to normal as he gazed into her eyes. As much as Sweetie Belle wanted to turn away, she couldn't help but stare into his eyes, as if something was holding her there.

"So..." said Apple Bloom, snapping the two of them from their trance, "We should go back to the party, huh?"

"Yeah," said Sweetie Belle, as she released Rumble's hoof. Then, she smiled at him and began making her way to the door. Almost immediately, Rumble turned his head away from the others in a desperate attempt to hide his deep red cheeks.

As the four of them made their way back to the party, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but think to herself that, what had just happened to her felt awfully familiar, like she had felt that way once before, a long time ago...


	7. Chapter 6: Unexpected

As the old saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun"; for Rumble, this was no exception. One moment, he was at the surprise party at Sugar Cube Corner, enjoying everypony's company and getting to know the residents of the small town. Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, the sun had set, the next day came, and he was back in school. Not to say that he had a problem with school, especially since he had been well acquainted with many of the foals in his class, but there was only one that he didn't get to know: Sweetie Belle.

The day seemed to flow very normally, not too fast nor too slow. However, the young colt did find it hard to pay attention to what was being taught, much like he had the day prior. His attention kept going back to the white unicorn filly, even though he tried his best not to do so. What made it more difficult for Rumble was that he was going to be spending the afternoon with her and her friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The thought of being with her, whether with her friends or not, made his heart speed up and his cheeks feel slightly warm. Furthermore, he didn't fully understand why he felt this way about Sweetie Belle and no other pony in his class. Try as he might, he couldn't think of one reason why he felt the way he did or what the feeling was to begin with.

Eventually, the school bell rang and all the fillies and colts in Ms. Cheerilee's class began to exit the building, the teacher telling them to have a good day. After collecting his things, Rumble trotted out into the sunny afternoon, a small breeze hitting him the moment he trotted out the door. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that the three fillies were standing there, waiting for him. Immediately, his gaze kept trying to shift back to Sweetie Belle. However, he fought it and kept his focus on all three of them, a smile on his face.

"So, Rumble," said Scootaloo, her tiny wings fluttering as she spoke, "Are you ready to join the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders?'"

"Yes...I guess..." he said softly, still trying to keep his smile on.

"Okay, let's get going," said Sweetie Belle, as the three of them turned and began trotting down the road. Letting out a small sigh to himself, Rumble began following them, keeping his distance behind them.

_Okay, Rumble,_ he thought to himself. _Keep it together. You're just hanging out with your friends, right? There's nothing wrong with that. Still, I wish I knew what to say to Sweetie Belle. Maybe I can think of something on our way to their clubhouse, wherever it is._

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" asked Scootaloo, a hint of a worried look on her face, "I mean about having Rumble joining us and all?"

"Of course it's a good idea. This is going to be so great!" Sweetie Belle said, skipping as she spoke, "A new member of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'! Now we have _four_ times the chance of getting out Cutie Marks."

"I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right about this. What do you think, Apple Bloom?"

There was a moment of silence after the question was asked. Curiously, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked in the direction of Apple Bloom to see why she hadn't answered. When they did, they saw that the yellow filly was looking at the ground, her eyes shifting back and forth as if she was looking for something.

Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo asked, "Hey, Apple Bloom, are you alright?"

"Huh?" asked Apple Bloom, snapping out of whatever trance she was in. "Oh...uh...yeah, that was a great idea! Let's get there right away!"

Immediately, Apple Bloom began trotting faster than her friends, getting a head of them by a couple of feet. Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle with a confused look while the white unicorn could only shrug one of her shoulders in response.

The rest of the journey to the clubhouse was made in silence, Apple Bloom leading the way. As they walked, Rumble noticed that they were heading past Sweet Apple Acres, the apple farm he heard so much about. When they passed the main gate to the farm, he looked in awe at all the apple trees that were strewn about the grounds, letting out a small gasp as he did; he had never seen so many apples in his entire life.

Soon, the four of them went past the main barn and into a more secluded section of the farm. As they did, Rumble kept a close eye on his surroundings, making sure he knew exactly where they were and how to get back if he needed to. However, his observations were short lived when his eyes fell upon what he could only assume was their clubhouse.

The brown house rested on a tree and had several windows on all sides, a balcony surrounding it and a ramp that lead up to the main entrance.

"Rumble," said Scootaloo, "Welcome to the clubhouse of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'!"

"Wow," said Rumble, "Did you three make this?"

"Well, sort of," said Sweetie Belle, "It was Applejack's old clubhouse when she was our age, so we didn't actually make it from scratch."

"But Apple Bloom made all the new renovations, like the roof and the walls and...well...everything else, for that matter."

"Wow," the colt said again, "You have a real knack for building things, Apple Bloom."

The earth pony didn't respond with words. All she did was smile a sheepish grin and run a hoof through her red hair-bow, her cheeks turning an interesting shade of red. An awkward silence fell upon the four of them as they all searched for something to say.

Soon, the orange Pegasus said, "So...how about we give you the tour of our clubhouse, Rumble?"

"That's a great idea," said Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking as she spoke. When it did, Rumble could feel his heart beginning to speed up. He didn't know why, but he liked the way it cracked like that; to him, it sounded very cute.

"What do you say, Apple Bloom?" asked Scootaloo, "Want to do the honors of giving our newest member the official tour?"

"Huh?" asked Apple Bloom, looking like she was snapped out of her trance again. "Oh...uh...sure...ah guess."

Soon, all of them were heading up the ramp into the clubhouse, Apple Bloom, once again, leading the way and Rumble falling behind the others. When they were inside, Rumble looked around at the beautifully decorated interior that was their clubhouse. It was small, but big enough to house all of them with ease. Drapes and white window sills lined the windows as drawings and pictures lined up the walls. He saw that there was a ladder that led up to another upper section of the clubhouse but he couldn't see what was up there.

Taking his eyes off of his environment, Rumble focused his attention on the fillies before him, more specifically on Apple Bloom. They all stood there for a while, each one waiting for something to happen. Eyes shifted back and forth and forced coughs were heard from Scootaloo. Then, probably out of impatience, the orange filly nudged Apple Bloom on the side, clearing her throat forcefully as she did.

"Oh...uh...right," said the farm filly, her eyes looking at the ground and shifting back and forth again. Then, she looked up at the colt and gave him another sheepish grin.

"So..." she said, as she raised her arm in the air, "This is our...uh...our clubhouse. Here we do our...um...our clubhouse...stuff..."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a confused glance at one another while Rumble sat on his haunches, trying his best to focus on the yellow farm filly. He watched as she looked back and forth around the clubhouse, trying to find something that she didn't seem to find. However, she flashed a toothy smile as she trotted over to the closest thing to her: the window.

"This is our window!" she said with a hoof raised in the air, pointing at it, "This is where we look outside at...at whatever's out there...or somethin'..."

She felt sweat drops beginning to form on the back of her neck as she trotted over to a small table with a vase on it.

"Over here, we have a table!" she said, "Here, we do our...um...table-like...stuff..."

Her heart began pounding harder in her chest as she trotted over to the back wall, where there was something drawn on it. From the looks of it, it was drawn with white chalk and had three O's and three X's, both of which horizontal and were separated with a white line that was drawn between them.

"And over here, we have...um...we have..." Apple Bloom began. However, as she looked at the drawing on the wall, she blinked twice at it before tapping her hoof against her chin. Then, with another sheepish grin, she turned back to Rumble and said, "To be honest...ah don't really know what this is...but it's here...in case...um...in case you wanna...um...look at it, or...or somethin'."

The yellow filly rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof and said, "So...whatdaya think?"

Silence followed as Rumble looked from Apple Bloom to the clubhouse and back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were exchanging confused glances at one another.

After a few moments, Rumble said, "Oh...uh...it's...very nice...very nice."

Apple Bloom released a sigh of relief as Scootaloo cleared her throat and said, "So, basically, what we do is try and think of everything and anything we can to earn our Cutie Marks. Then, we try them out! Whatever it is, it's got to be something we're good at!"

"Anything?" Rumble asked.

"Yeah," chimed in Sweetie Belle, "Of course, we try to keep our safety in mind, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Okay..." said Rumble, trying not to stare at the white unicorn for long, "Sounds like fun."

"So..." said Scootaloo, "Any ideas on how we can earn out Cutie Marks?"

Again, silence fell on all of them as they sat on their haunches and waited for an answer. Rumble began searching around the room, feeling sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck. Since he didn't expect to be asked this question right away, he didn't have an answer ready for them; not to mention his thoughts were mostly concentrated on Sweetie Belle (despite the fact that he tried to avoid this).

The Pegasus colt shifted his eyes to the ground, trying to find some kind of an answer. Then, his eyes focused on some of the scratches in the wooden floor. It was most likely a coincidence that the marks in the ground were shaped that way, but at closer observation, some of the marks in the wood almost formed the shape of a diamond. Having seen this, an idea immediately popped into his head, causing him to look up at the fillies before him.

With the best mile he could possible muster, he said to them, "How about...kite flying?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged smiles at one another. Then, the former said, "That's good, but we already tried doing that a while ago."

"Oh," said Rumble, as he looked down the ground again.

"It's not your fault," said the white filly, "I guess we should have told you what we did already before we..."

"Now what a minute, girls," interrupted Apple Bloom as she trotted between the two of them, "Ah think we should give it another go!"

"Huh?" said Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in unison. As the two of them raised an eyebrow at their friend, Rumble looked up at her, a surprised look on his face.

Her cheeks turning a small shade of red, the farm filly said, "Well, ah think we should try kite-flying again."

"But we already did, remember?" asked Sweetie Belle, "The kites kept falling to the ground and getting caught in trees and stuff!"

"Ah know, ah know, but Applejack's always tellin' me that 'practice makes perfect'. Besides, it can't hurt to try again. Come on, ya'll. Let's give it another go!"

"Well..." said Scootaloo, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof, "I guess it's worth another shot...I guess..."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Apple Bloom said as she began making her way to the main entrance of the clubhouse. On her way, she passed by Rumble, who offered a polite smile at her. She smiled back, her cheeks still an interesting shade of red. However, she kept her eyes on him for a moment too long as her hoof caught onto a raised floor board, causing her to lose her balance and trip.

Apple Bloom tumbled out of the doorway of the clubhouse, looking like a bouncing ball as she fell down the ramp and hit the soft grass at the very bottom.

"Apple Bloom," Scootaloo called out, "Are you alright?"

Her eyes spinning in her head, she managed to call out, "Ah'm okay!" As she tried to regain her focus, she couldn't help but think to herself, _Great job, you klutz. You made yerself look like a fool!_

Scootaloo gave a look of concern as she darted out of the clubhouse to check their fellow crusader. This left Rumble and Sweetie Belle alone inside for a few moments. Their time alone was cut short when Rumble saw the white filly beginning to leave.

_This is your chance,_ he thought to himself. _Say something to her!_

"Um..." he managed to choke out. Thankfully, this caught the attention of Sweetie Belle, who stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Hmm?" she asked, offering a smile to him.

The two of them stared at each other for the first time that day. Rumble could feel his heart beginning to race inside his chest, almost pounding against his ribcage. As he gazed into her beautiful eyes, he tried desperately to think of something, anything, to say to her. All he managed to do was open his mouth in preparation to say something. Unfortunately, no words were able to come out; however, he felt them caught in his throat, making it harder for him to breath, more or less speak.

As Sweetie Belle looked into Rumble's eyes, she felt something beginning to come over her. She didn't know why, but she had a sense of familiarity with the feeling; it was as if she had felt this way before, a long time ago. Immediately, her thoughts went back to the day before, when she looked into his eyes at the party. She recalled feeling the same way now that she felt back then. However, a part of her still felt that she had felt this way long before Rumble came along, but she couldn't put her hoof on when.

"Sweetie Belle! Rumble!" called Scootaloo from outside the clubhouse, "Are you two coming or what?"

Instantly, Sweetie Belle took her eyes off of Rumble and looked outside to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom waiting for them.

Looking back at the colt, she smiled again and said, "Let's get going, Rumble."

All Rumble could do was close his ajar mouth and nod, trying his best to make his feigned smile look natural. Then, the white filly trotted out of the clubhouse, leaving him alone for a few moments. In the split second she was gone, he managed to exhale deeply; he hadn't recalled when he started holding his breath, but at one point, he did.

A second or two later, he got up and began trotting out of the clubhouse. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he saw the three fillies were waiting for him.

"So, where're we gonna get our kites?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I think I still have the kites from last time at my house," said Scootaloo.

"Great," said Sweetie Belle, "Let's get going, then."

Nodding her head, Scootaloo turned down the dirt path and began leading the others to her house to get their kites. Apple Bloom followed next with Sweetie Belle following her and Rumble trailing behind. As the grey colt trotted behind the others, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh to himself, his eyes looking from Sweetie Belle to the ground.

_Well, that didn't go as expected_, the thought to himself. _What's happening to me? Why can't I talk when I'm around her? Why is this happening all of a sudden?_

He let out another sigh. _Maybe I'll have better luck next time. If only there was a way that I could spend some time with her without the others. Maybe then I'd be able to think of what to say._

After a short distance, Sweetie Belle increased the speed of her trot to catch up to Apple Bloom. "Are you alright?" she asked her.

"Huh?" she asked, appearing to be snapped out of some kind of trance.

"I asked if you were alright."

"Oh, ah'm fine, thanks."

"Are you sure?"

At the last question, Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, ah'm sure. Why're you askin'?"

"Well, it's not like you to be so...well...clumsy like that," explained the unicorn, "I was just a little worried about you, that's all."

Apple Bloom put on a smile and said, "Don't you worry yerself. Ah'm a-okay! Nothin' wrong here, no sir-ee!"

With that, Apple Bloom turned and began trotting a little faster. As she did, Sweetie Belle looked at her and cocked her head to one side.

_Something is definitely up with Apple Bloom_, she thought to herself. _It's not like her to act like this. I wonder what she's up to. Also, is it just me, or have her cheeks been turning red a lot today?_

With nothing more than a shrug, she continued trotting down the dirt path as the four of them made their way towards town, all of them hoping their second attempt at "kite-flying cutie marks" will pay off.

* * *

Thunderlane was trotting through Ponyville, trying his best to memorize some of the more helpful places around town. It'd only been a few days since he moved here, but he was pretty confident he had most of the town memorized. He kept in mind places like Town Hall, Sugar Cube Corner, an odd store that sold quills _and_ sofas, and other places like that.

As he continued trotting down the road past a library in a tree, he spotted a familiar face leaving the building. When the pony in question spotted him, she tucked a book into her saddlebag and approached him with a smile.

"Rainbow Dash!" he called out to the cyan Pegasus in front of him.

"Hey, Thunderlane," she responded, extending her hoof to give him a hoof-bump, "What's happening? I heard you and your brother moved into town."

The stallion returned the gesture and smiled. "Yeah, and I have to admit, this town is pretty nice. I didn't expect to receive such a warm welcome yesterday."

As Thunderlane continued trotting down the road, Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and began flying along side of him.

"So, you planning on staying here for long?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he said, looking at the ground, "It all depends on what's happening back at home. Hopefully, we'll get to stay here for a bit longer because I really like it here."

"Well, glad to hear you're enjoying yourself. By the way, are you ready for tomorrow?"

The moment the question left the cyan Pegasus' mouth, Thunderlane stopped trotting. "Tomorrow? What's happening tomorrow?"

Hovering in front of him, Rainbow raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you remember? We have weather duties tomorrow. There's a scheduled morning rain shower that we need to have, not to mention that it needs to be cleared up by the afternoon."

"Oh...that rain shower was scheduled for tomorrow?" Thunderlane asked, a worried look on his face.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at him. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"No, no, no, of course not," he said, a toothy grin replacing his look of worry. "I totally remembered. What made you think I forgot?"

The cyan Pegasus crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow again, clearly not convinced that he remembered. Knowing she was looking right through his lies, the stallion sighed and lowered his head in shame.

"Alright, alright, you caught me. I forgot, okay?"

The rainbow-mane Pegasus rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Typical Thunderlane." Then, she focused her attention back to him and said, "Good thing I was here to remind you, huh? Otherwise, you'd have to explain why you didn't show up!"

"Yeah," he said nervously, "Good thing."

"Well, I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Thunderlane." With that, she flew off into the air, leaving a streak of rainbow in her pass. When he was certain she was out of sight, Thunderlane let out an audible sigh.

_Well, this is just great_, he thought to himself. _I didn't expect that storm to be scheduled for tomorrow. Now I'll need to find someone to watch after Rumble while I'm gone. But, who am I going to ask? I don't know too many ponies here that I can trust. There's got to be somepony who I can..._

Thunderlane's thoughts were cut off when he spotted a familiar unicorn trotting down the road. He didn't have to think for long to recognize the beautiful Rarity, trotting along with a saddlebag on her back and a lovely smile on her face. Instantly, his heart began to beat and a contented sigh escaped his lips; in all his life, he had never seen such a beautiful pony.

Immediately, he shook his head and straightened his posture as an idea popped into his head. Although he was worried about what the outcome would be, he knew that he had to ask, and who better than the lovely vision trotting in front of him. Besides, if she said no, he'd have to ask another pony so he figured he'd have to start somewhere.

Slowly, he trotted up to Rarity, cleared his throat, and called out, "Excuse me."

Rarity stopped her trotting and turned to look at him, a surprised look on her face.

"Oh," she said, "Hello, Thunderlane. How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a hoof. "Listen, I know we haven't known each other for long, but something has come up and...well...I was...um..."

Rarity turned her whole body to face him as a look of concern came across her face.

"What's wrong, darling?" she asked.

Letting out another sigh, he continued. "Well, I have to go and perform weather duties tomorrow and...let's just say that it took me by surprise and…well...I was just wondering...if it's not too much trouble, that is...if you could...um..."

The alabaster mare sat on her haunches, cocking her head to one side in confusion. When he saw this, Thunderlane let out one last sigh and blurted out, "Would it be alright if you can watch Rumble tomorrow, just until the late afternoon? I completely forgot about my weather duties and I don't know who else to ask."

She was taken aback by his request; the look in her eyes was a clear indication of that. However, the look was short lived as she began tapping her hoof on her chin, looking down at the ground as she did.

"Well," she said, "This is rather unexpected."

"I know it's very 'last minute', but you look like a mare that I can trust," he said, a smile coming across his face. When it did, Rarity couldn't help but smile, her cheeks turning a small shade of red.

"Oh, of course I will, darling," she said, "He can come home with Sweetie Belle right after school tomorrow."

Thunderlane let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. You're a life saver!"

The two of them smiled at one another, both of their cheeks becoming redder than they ever thought possible. With one last thank you, Thunderlane turned away and began making his way back to the inn, a wave of relief washing over him.

_Thank Celestia she said yes. She's such a generous mare_, he thought to himself. _There has to be a way for me to thank her for this._

He allowed his thoughts to dwell on this as he trotted away. As he did, Rarity couldn't help but let a small giggle escape her lips.

_He's so cute_, she thought to herself. With that, she continued to make her way back to the Boutique, her cheeks still a small shade of red.


End file.
